Startling
by HecateA
Summary: Ted wasn't entirely sure that the quiet and distant Andromeda Black knew he existed up until that point, much less that she had any stake in eavesdropping on his potion class shenanigans. Oneshot.


**Author's Note: **Enjooooy!

**Disclaimer: **The following characters belong to J.K. Rowling, and this story derives from her original works, storylines, and world. Please do not sue me, I can barely pay tuition.

**Warnings: **NA

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**Stacked with: **MC4A; Shipping Wars; Hogwarts

**Individual Challenge(s): **Slytherin MC; Hufflepuff MC; Bow Before the Blacks; Seeds; Old Shoes; Trope it Up C (Secret Relationship); Themes & Things A (New Beginnings); Themes & Things B (Joy); Themes & Things C (Cauldron); Rian-Russo Inversion; In a Flash; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux

**Word Count: **

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_**Shipping Wars**_

**Ship (Team): **Andromeda Black Tonks/Ted Tonks (Pure Traitors)

**List (Prompt): **Summer Big List (Laughing)

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_**Hogwarts Submitting Info**_

**House: **Ravenclaw

**Assignment: **Assignment #1, Photography Task #2: Write about someone being, or believing that they are being spied on.

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**Startling**

Slughorn had them brew what he'd advertised as an easy potion today—which didn't explain why all of their elixirs had formed disgusting, gooey, sticky, residues at the bottom of everyone's cauldrons. Without fail; everyone in class had really missed the mark on this one. To be clear: the mark had been ploughed down and trampled to death.

To make matters worse, the disgusting evidence of their failures refused to be vanished away with cleaning smells, no matter how hard Ted or any of the other Hufflepuffs at his table tried. As a result, the lineup to get to the sink to rinse them out was crazy, stupid long—and because their class was right before lunch, anxiety ran high about missing break time. That didn't seem to make the line run more quickly, though…

Amelia Bones was hugging her cauldron to her chest and sighing, blowing her bangs out of her face.

"This is awful," Amelia said. "I'm dropping potions next year. No don't roll your eyes at me—I mean it this time, Ted. I'll readjust all of my career paths and aspirations so that I don't need potions. I'll sit my O.W.L.S. and then it's all over, I'm never doing this again."

"Okay," Ted said.

"What do you mean 'okay?'" Amelia said reproachfully. "You mark my words, Ted Tonks!"

"I'll mark them like Slughorn marks everything you do as an A+, which strokes your ego into staying," Ted said. He readjusted the cauldron propped onto his hip. He was getting antsy too. He was starving, and the prospect of being a second late to lunch and missing any kind of time dedicated to scarfing down food... "You know what Amy, maybe I don't _need _to clean out this cauldron. Maybe this muck at the bottom is an undiscovered potion that I can patent and become rich and famous for. Really, it would just be scientifically sound of me to let this stuff fester and see what it comes to be…"

"What on Earth do you reckon that that stuff can do?" Amelia asked, peering into his cauldron. The smell had her crinkle her nose and she backed away. "Merlin! Ted, that smells even more foul than mine."

"That just means I'll be richer," Ted said.

Before Amelia could snap something back, Ted heard a startling, beautiful laughter that sounded a little like windchimes just behind him.

He turned around and, to his surprise, there was Andromeda Black—who he had only talked to a handful of times since they were both prefects. Her long brown curls were tied back with green ribbon, and her brown eyes were so incredibly round. When Ted turned towards her she blushed bright red and looked away quickly, chewing her heavy lip. He didn't know why she'd been listening to him, but she was quite pretty and so Ted turned away quickly as well, probably blushing just as hard.

And he also smiled to himself, happy to have made that laughter come out of her—no matter how foolish that might be. Even more foolish; he wondered if, how, and when he could do it again.


End file.
